Mississippi State University junior chemical engineering major Christian Weekley grew up making paper airplanes.
Even as an adult, whenever he has a blank piece of paper, he almost always will fold it into an airplane, especially if bored during class, he said.
The trick to mastering the perfect paper airplane is to bend the tip of it, which he dubbed “the dove,” down just slightly, providing the airplane with more pocket air and allowing it to glide smoothly through the air.
“When you fold the tip down, it allows for better airflow,” Weekley said. “It keeps its stability. In keeping stability, that means a better airplane.”
Along with Weekley, several students participated in the Red Bull Paper Wings contest Thursday evening at MSU’s Sanderson Center. The event was a “qualiflyer” for the national and world finals.
Paper Wings, the world’s largest paper plane competition, tests individual creativity, imagination and technical skills through simply folding up a sheet of paper and making it fly through the air.
Junior Jesse Hollingsworth won the competition for longest distance, 142.5 feet, and junior Garrett Tucker won longest airtime at 5.88 seconds. Both will advance to the national competition in Huntsville, Alabama. If they win there, they will move on to the world competition in Salzburg, Austria.
With more than 400 qualiflyer events, Red Bull contacted MSU about hosting one due to the university’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, a nationally recognized aviation program, Raspet Director Tom Brooks said.
“They knew about us and our reputation through aeronautical research and we responded positively and the university got behind the event,” Brooks said.
Often a person’s first impression of aviation is a paper airplane, Brooks said, and events like these show students the importance of aeronautical research. He said he hopes this opportunity also gave students a fun break from studying for midterms.
“It’s really cool to see students, even if aviation is not their vocation, here and excited about aviation,” Brooks said. “The timing is fantastic.”
Events like this not only allow students to discuss aerodynamics by critically finding the best way to fly a paper airplane, Brooks said, but also may inspire students to pursue a career in aviation.
“We train and educate aviation researchers, and if they’re not going to stay in academic research, they’re going to go into industry,” Brooks said. “Things like this actually do generate a buzz or interest in aviation. Maybe there’s someone here who is not in aviation but has an interest in being a pilot. They may go get their private license in the future. That helps build the industry.”
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